{"id":388154,"date":"2019-08-04T21:28:45","date_gmt":"2019-08-05T04:28:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=388154"},"modified":"2019-08-04T21:28:45","modified_gmt":"2019-08-05T04:28:45","slug":"ryan-lochte-family-man-on-a-mission-is-back-among-worlds-elite","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/ryan-lochte-family-man-on-a-mission-is-back-among-worlds-elite\/","title":{"rendered":"Ryan Lochte, Family Man on a Mission, is Back Among World’s Elite (VIDEO INTERVIEW)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ryan Lochte<\/strong> is back \u2014 really back.<\/p>\n

Yes, he swam earlier in the meet, making a comeback from a 14-month suspension<\/a>, swimming a strong time trial in the 200 IM to turn a few heads, then swam in a few other events, not making an A final.<\/p>\n

But on Sunday, a day after turning 35, he was the top seed in an A final on the national stage \u2014 and he did even better in finals, winning in<\/a> 1:57.76.<\/p>\n

It was far from his world record 1:54.00, but it was still a performance just outside of the top 10 in the world this year and a tenth of a second out of making the finals at the World Championships.<\/p>\n

That means even with the time off because of the suspension<\/a>, the lack of sleep with a new baby, the fact that he only trains about half the time of his teammates because of his young family, the fact that he turned 35 on Saturday \u2014\u00a0even with all of that \u2014\u00a0he is still one of the world\u2019s elite swimmers.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery time I got up on the blocks and raced (this week), it was the hardest thing,\u201d Lochte said. \u201cI don\u2019t know half the swimmers I am swimming against because they are all 10 years younger than me. But it is fun getting on those blocks and racing again, being happy with the sport. I lost that mojo that I had a while ago. Now, I am finally getting that back. I guess I owe it all to my family because I am doing it for them. Just racing, that competitive edge, I lost it. I am slowly getting it back. I will know it when I get on the blocks and feel like I can go toe-to-toe with anyone. That is what I was always the best at, going and racing.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n